At last, time to begin tackling the dining room! First, there are a few things to ignore: a) the light fixture slated for replacement in the near yet unscheduled future & the bulb that we don’t mind is out, b) the dining room table mid-refinishing, c) the dresser peeking in from the left of the photo, and d) the artwork because in my world, it really should go up last after everything else is in place (but it went up early and in random places for safety).
Our dining room was been a forgotten corner where dust bunnies grow and have families because our table was in a state of disrepair (more on that tomorrow) and we’d put absolutely no effort into making it our own. Here’s a look at where we started:
Our goal was to create a space where the family can eat together and grow (not dust bunnies!) that is inviting but simple. Our dining room table is a DIY “living/live/natural” edge walnut slab table that took more man hours to make than we can ever count at this point. It deserves to stay the focus, and I first wanted to frame it with some long curtains.
I’ve had a bit of a navy blue bug lately and tried my hardest to find long-length plain navy blue curtains that wouldn’t break the bank. Seriously, would you think that is too much to ask? I tried the usual suspects: Bed, Bath & Beyond, JC Pennies, Amazon.com, CurtainWorks, Half Price Drapes… No one had long, 108″ plus plain navy blue curtains for a price that I could tolerate. I wanted something linen-y with a hint of texture and only found velvet (which felt too heavy for the space), crinkle (yuck, not for me), and sheer. Finally, I thought to try IKEA and found these on their website. I had to stew on the shiny factor for a bit and I had never tried IKEA curtains before so it was un-charted territory. Once we took the plunge, I’m glad we did.
I did have to hem them, which went very quickly despite the material not being especially iron-friendly. The material looks great and the only major hint that they are cheaply made are the loops in back. $100 for 4 long-length curtain panels is a win in my book, especially when they make the room look this much more inviting.
I was nervous about going so dark when my goal is to great a light, airy space, but I like the contrast as much as I hoped I would.
The angled rod is from Bed, Bath & Beyond. It’s actually one longer rod and two shorter ones joined with joints that can be rotated to accommodate just about any angle.
Here’s a close-up of the material. I was afraid that it would be overwhelmingly “satin-y”, but it’s really a nice, simple material.
With the curtains up, I have a new energy of make a great space out of our dining room. Here’s the plan as it now stands:
- Done:
- Curtains
- To-do:
- Re-finish dining room table
- Add a simple rug
- Change-our art
- Replace rustic, iron chandelier with two smaller ones centered over the table (eventually)
More dining room updates on the way!
